If you are a horse lover, you might be considering purchasing property that will help you enjoy your beloved pets even more. After all, what horse lover wouldn’t enjoy being able to go ride their horses whenever they like on their own property? While searching for the perfect horse property, however, there are several things you should keep in mind in order to ensure the property you purchase is truly able to make your ranch dreams a reality.
Local Resources: Rancho Palos Verdes City and Rancho Palos Verdes News

Look for Water
One thing that is a necessity with horse property is water. Your horses will need to have easy access to plenty of water, so look for property that is located near to a creek or spring. Or, at the very least, make certain an abundant supply of groundwater will be available to your horses. Ideally, the property should have a domestic freshwater well. Regardless of the water source, be sure to find out if you have rights to the water before you purchase the property.

Stay Away from Predators
While there is no way to completely avoid predators, it is a good idea to research the area in order to learn more about the type of wildlife that is native to the area. By choosing an area with few natural predators, you can rest assured that your horses will be safe.

Purchasing Plenty of Healthy Land
If you want your horses to be happy and if you want to have plenty of opportunities for riding and enjoying them, you need to purchase a property with plenty of land. Of course, the quality of the land is essential as well. By purchasing land with rich soil, your horses will be able to enjoy getting plenty of nutrients as they graze on the land.

Seek Out the Shade
While open pastures are great, you also want to find land that has plenty of shade trees as well. In this way, your horses can get out of the sun while still enjoying the grass and the freedom of the pasture throughout the day.

Keep it Accessible
When it comes to horse property, it is important to have boundaries that are clearly defined. Ideally, at least part of the property will be fenced off so you don’t have to worry about your horse roaming too far while out on the pasture. At the same time, you want the property to be easily accessible. Therefore, you should look for property with an access road.

About the Author: Brian Kinkade is a broker and team lead with Brokers Guild – Cherry Creek Ltd, one of Denver’s fastest growing full service Denver real estate firm. Brian’s team of Internet savvy agents service the Denver Metro area while specializing in Denver luxury homes, Colorado horse property and International sales. They invite you to visit their advanced real estate website today to search for homes, gather local information, and learn about Denver neighborhoods. Brian and his team are standing by and ready to assist with your home purchase, property sale or relocation needs.

Have you been considering purchasing a new home this year? Although it is too late to take advantage of the home buyer credit that was made available by the Federal Government, there are still plenty of reasons to purchase a home this year. Here’s a look at the top 5 reasons to buy a home this year.
Local Resources: Rancho Palos Verdes City and Rancho Palos Verdes News

Reason #1: Low Prices
Although most experts agree that the economy is on the road to recovery, house prices are still quite low. While some have already started to rebound, others are right on the bubble and aren’t likely to get any lower. So, if you were waiting for the housing market to bottom out, now is the time.

Reason #2: Higher Quality Homes on the Market
In many housing markets around the country, foreclosure properties have already been purchased. As a result, the owners of lower-priced homes are being forced to reduce their prices even further in order to compete with one another. As a result, those who purchase a home now are more likely to get a higher quality home at a great price.

Reason #3: Low Interest Rates
Interest rates on home mortgage loans are currently at the lowest they have been in over 50 years. As a result, those who buy their homes now are in position to save thousands of dollars over the course of the loan. According to many experts, home mortgage loan interest rates are likely to start creeping upward soon. Therefore, if you wait too much longer, you might not be able to take advantage of this outstanding opportunity.

Reason #4: Take Advantage of Incentives
Although the Federal homebuyer tax credit program has come to an end, there are still other programs and incentives available to those who are interested in purchasing a home. In fact, many states have programs available to help homebuyers pay for their closing costs or to assist with coming up with the funds necessary for a down payment. Furthermore, although the homebuyer credit is no longer available, there are still tax incentives for homeowners that have always been in place. For example, property taxes are deductible as are other costs associated with homeownership.

Reason #5: The Process Has Been Made Easier
As anyone who tried to purchase a home during the worst part of the recession can attest to, purchasing a home at that time was nearly impossible. Not only were lenders reluctant to approve loans, but government regulations regarding appraisals and other aspects of the real estate industry slowed down the home buying process significantly. Today, lending institutions are far more willing to work with potential buyers and certain regulations have been relaxed or altered in ways that makes the home buying process far simpler.

About the Author: Brian Kinkade is a broker and team lead with Brokers Guild – Cherry Creek Ltd, one of Denver’s fastest growing full service Denver real estate firm. Brian’s team of Internet savvy agents service the Denver Metro area while specializing in Denver luxury homes, Colorado horse property and International sales. They invite you to visit their advanced real estate website today to search for homes, gather local information, and learn about Denver neighborhoods. Brian and his team are standing by and ready to assist with your home purchase, property sale or relocation needs.

Note: A special thanks to Rancho Santa Fe Real Estate in contributing to distinguished online real estate news.

Are you planning to sell your home sometime soon? If you are getting ready to put your home on the market, you want to be certain to get as much for your home as possible. Fortunately, there are several simple steps that you can take to make this happen. Here are five ways to sell your home for top dollar.

Tip #1: Improve Its Condition

The most important step you can take toward getting top dollar for your home is to make certain it is in great shape. This doesn’t mean you need to conduct major reconstruction. Rather, you should take simple steps to make your home more presentable, such as painting the exterior and its trim, planting colorful flowers, trimming trees and shrubs, painting the front door, painting the garage door and making certain the front yard is properly trimmed.

Tip #2: Give Your Home Proper Exposure

Let’s face it – no one is ever going to buy your property if they don’t know it is on the market. To that same end, you will not be able to enjoy top dollar for your home unless you reach the right potential buyers. The simple truth is that, the more people who see your home, the greater the chances will be of getting the price you are after. Therefore, it is important to develop a solid marketing plan that includes ample local and national advertising.

Tip #3: Pick the Right Time to Sell

Obviously, you will have the best chance of getting top dollar for your home if you sell it in a seller’s market, but what about when the market is not working in your favor? If you have to sell your home while the market is down, choosing the right time to sell will still help you get more for your home. In general, the best time to sell a home is in the Spring, Summer and the early part of Fall. You will also have a better chance of selling your home for top dollar if you sell it while interest rates are down, as potential buyers are more interested in purchasing a home when they know they can save on the interest costs.

Tip #4: Don’t Allow Your Listing to Stale

If your home has been on the market for longer than expected, you should take it off and try again later if you have the time to do so. When a home stays on the market for longer than a reasonable period of time, it is said to have “staled” and a staled home generally sells for much less than one that has not staled.

Tip #5: Choose a Reasonable Price

While you certainly want to get as much as possible for your home, resist the temptation to overprice it so potential buyers can “bargain the price down.” If you put the home on the market at a price that is unreasonable, you will alienate many potential buyers who consider the property to be out of their price range. By putting your home on the market at a fair price, you will be more likely to enjoy the top dollar you are looking for.

About the Author: John Allen represents buyers and sellers of fine Sarasota real estate, including condos. Also, special thanks to Yorba Linda Homes for Sale and Rancho Santa Fe Real Estate.

VA Loans in Rancho Palos Verdes

For many, it would be a dream come true to live in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Its lush hills and beautiful view of the ocean are breathtaking. And for that reason, homes there are not cheap, the median price being around $900,000.

With the recent growing popularity of government-backed mortgage programs, though, more families are able to accomplish their dreams of homeownership and do it where they want.  U.S. Veterans and active duty service members are one group of people who can use government benefits to their advantage.

Uncle Sam’s Benefits for Military Members

$8,000 tax credit

The tax credit helped many first time homebuyers of the year 2010 put a down payment on a new home.  But with active duty service members’ hectic and unique schedules, it would have been hard to go through the process of buying a home without better notice. So, the government recently extended the deadline for the $8,000 tax credit to April 30, 2011.

BAH and OHA

Although the Basic Allowance for Housing and Overseas Housing Allowance might not apply to all military members, it’s good for service members to know that stipends received from these programs can be put towards mortgage.

BAH is for service members who cannot obtain government quarters within the U.S.  The Department of Defense then compensates the military member, giving him or her a monthly allowance based on the local housing costs in which he or she resides.  The amount received is determined based on current rates of the program, plus the pay grade and dependency status of the military member.

VA Loan

The biggest home buying benefit Uncle Sam provides for veterans is the VA mortgage program. Obviously, a veteran should be able to easily own a home in the land they sacrifice so much to protect. Obtaining a loan is usually quite difficult and stressful.  However, the VA loan program was made to take the stress out of the process, and help veterans find their dream home for their families.

VA Mortgage Benefits

Because the Department of Veteran Affairs insures the loan, lenders and homebuyers consider it to be a great option for homebuyers. In one year alone, the VA office has already backed 450,000 loans, totaling more than $40 billion. VA mortgages as much as $1 million were backed in higher cost areas like Palos Verdes, although, the general limit of VA loan is between $207,000 and $417,000.

In addition to its being readily approved, the loans require no down payment.

Closings costs, appraisal and origination fees are low. Not only does the VA not require monthly private mortgage insurance, but it also forbids lenders from charging it.  PMI could potentially costs around $100 to $250 per month on the first three to five years of the loan.  A veteran can save so much!

There will be a VA funding fee, which is usually around two percent of the loan.  The fee can be lowered in cost if the Veteran decides to make a down payment of at least five percent.

A veteran’s credit scores also do not need to be as high as is required for a conventional loan. Even people with great scores can be denied for conventional mortgages. However, to get those jumbo VA loans, a veteran should work to raise his or her score as high as possible.  A higher credit score and reasonable debt to income ratio could help one to get a loan amount up to $729,000 for sure if not a little bit more.

New Home Sales Stage Impressive Rebound in June

Dramatically recovering from May’s record lows, new home sales surged in June, bringing the inventory of homes on the market to a 42-year low.

June figures were contrasted by downward revisions to April and May sales estimates, tempering perceptions of second quarter economic growth and substantiating concerns of a persistent weak housing market.

The percentage increase in new home sales in June was the largest seen since May 1980, and rivaled that year’s memorable 36.7 percent drop spurred as by a wildly popular tax credit that bolstered sales.

June’s impressive surge in sales saw the supply of new homes on the market plummet from 9.6 months’ worth in May to 7.6 months’ worth. Reaching their lowest levels since the third quarter of 1968, the number of new homes on the market fell 1.4 percent to 210,000 homes.

Despite June’s undoubtedly positive growth, analysts cautioned that an importunate high jobless rate threatens to stall a return to a healthy housing market.

Rancho Palos Verdes Real Estate Market Report

While a certain bellwether, new home sales make up only a fraction to the total U.S. housing market. Analysts polled last month forecasted nearly a 7 percent uptick in new home sales, predicting sales of 320,000 homes in June up from May numbers of 300,000 homes.

At the same time that new homes sales rebounded, sales of existing homes hit three month lows.
The housing report came on the heels of an announcement by FedEx Corp. that the logistics and package delivery giant had upgraded its quarterly and annual earnings forecasts, together sparking a rally on Wall Street. FedEx also said that air and ground package deliveries were up, signaling positive overall economic growth.

All three major U.S. stocked indexes staged a 1 percent rally, each gaining 1 percent on the day. The Nasdaq, already narrowly in positive territory for the year, closed at 1.2 percent up for the year. The Standard & Poor’s 500 closed just shy of breaking even for the year, while the Dow Jones industrial average has also regained positive ground.
While all signs signal a relative lull in the U.S. economy’s recovery from the most extended and far reaching recession since the 1930s, economists do not anticipate a double-dip recession.

Numbers set to be released this week are expected to show a slow in gross domestic product growth, with a growth rate 2.5 percent in the second quarter of this year, down from a growth rate of 2.7 percent in the year’s first quarter.

Manufacturing, regarded as a principal engine of growth, continued its decline into July. A weak housing market is expected to continue to hamper growth through much of the remainder of the year, but the housing sector is not expected to trigger a renewed downturn.

About the Author:
Eric Bramlett is the broker & co-owner of One Source Realty, a boutique Austin real estate brokerage. Eric currently manages his agents, and works with select buyers & sellers. Eric manages a Austin condo website, and specializes in Steiner Ranch Homes for Sale. Eric has worked in central & west Austin for 7+ years, and is considered an expert in online marketing.

A Quick Guide to Hiring the Right Mover

By Daniel Taft, contributor

Rancho Palos Verdes Moving Company

Finding and purchasing the home that meets all of your requirements and specifications is a fantastic feeling, one that is matched only by the excitement of moving, but it can also bring about a lot of stress. With a whole list of things to do during the moving process, you could be forgiven for cutting some corners but an element that should never be taken lightly is the choice of mover. You need to find the right moving company for you and one you feel comfortable with because you need to be able to trust them with your possessions. You also need to be able to trust that your belongings will get to your new home in one piece. As such, you need to consider several points and factors. Five of them are outlined below for your consideration.

Ask Your Broker or Agent for a Recommendation
As they are in the business of moving, real estate agents and brokers have seen it all and are also able to recount various stories and experiences as told by previous clients. As such, they are well placed to make recommendations on companies that can be trusted to move you as well as providing you with excellent knowledge and ideas about local companies should you need it.

The License, Experience and Insurance
No matter which mover you ultimately choose to go with, it should have all of the above three elements in place. Recommendations count for nothing if your belongings are not insured by the mover. In addition movers must have the licenses that are required by law to even do the job. Although they do not need experience, it is recommended that they have it for your own peace of mind.

Research, Research, Research
Researching the moving companies that you consider to move your possessions when you are moving house is an absolute must. You should thoroughly check that each one is legitimate, ensure that they have plenty of past clients that are happy and are respected in the industry. Although there are not many around, falling victim to a scam is not the best way to start moving day. The Internet and real estate agents are valuable resources for this point.

Contact Your Mover
No matter which mover you choose, it is important to speak to them before moving day. First impressions count and they should be able to impress you with a friendly but professional service. They should offer you guidance, advice and maybe even different packages but above all else they should offer peace of mind.

Considering Your Budget
This point ties in with the previous one. You need to speak with the mover to clarify any extra charges they levy during the move, what is included in the service and how much it is likely to cost overall. Make sure that you have everything agreed in writing and have read the small print before signing it.

As you can see, there really is nothing to hiring the right moving company when you know how. These five points will stand you in good stead and will eliminate the stress of the decision. Choosing a good mover will further reduce that stress, enhance your peace of mind and make your moving day run as smoothly as possible so take your time and make the decision that you feel comfortable with.

About our special contributor:
Dylan Taft is an experienced Hudson Valley real estate professional working in home sales and purchases. Visit Dylan’s professionally optimized website for more information on property taxes, and details on the Ulster County real estate area.

At long last new information on this Website! Today I finally got around to recording a new video of our new home search software available – for free – to you, dear online home-hunter! In the video I create a search for Rancho Palos Verdes Homes. But the same goes for any city you wish. Enjoy and hopefully you will see many more in the coming months.

Ryan

P.S. Enjoy another featured article by local Palos Verdes students!

When you want to find real estate you will know that you might need to know some ways to locate the information that you want. However, your going to find that it can be challenging to find Rancho Palos Verdes for sale if you do not know the ways that you can find this information at.

One method that you can use will be to conduct your own research by harnessing the far reaching power of the search engines. By using them you could find that you will be able to locate a great home on your own, but you might be able to find out information about the area you are looking at moving to.

Real estate agents can be a great resource to use as well since they will know about all the homes that are for sale in the area. Then you can see the homes that you might not even know about or could be going onto the market soon, but have not made it to it yet.

If you have any friends that live near here you might want to talk to them and tell them what you are looking for. By doing that they could keep there eyes open for you on any homes near them that are coming up for sale soon.

You could also browse through the newspaper to look for places that are for sale. The newspaper is a great place to look for people that are selling the home by owner. By looking here you could find that some of them will be listed here and you could get the home of your dreams by reading the ads.

When you want to buy a new house know the ways that are available to help you find the home that you dream of. Once you know of those ways you can find it much easier to locate the Rancho Palos Verdes for sale home that you have been dreaming of for years.

Rancho Palos Verdes for sale notices list residences that are the latest in convenience. Put your family in one of the attractive and stylish Rancho Palos Verdes homes and you will have a home you can be proud of.

Palos Verdes HomeOwner Advocates to donate a free copy of Mike Rockwood’s newest handbook written specifically for South Bay homeowners! (Click below)

By Ryan Rockwood

Yet another spooky P.O.S. foreclosure in Rancho Palos Verdes went on the chopping block today. 26715 Menomine, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA didn’t have any takers though so it’s now the fabulous new property of SunTrust Mortgage!

RPV foreclosure does have nice view

A Troubled Property

Don’t believe me? Well then move your family right on into 26715 Menomine. I predict your life heads straight down the toilet.

I don’t consider myself superstitious. But I do believe in bad houses. And this is one of them.Watch for these characteristics:

1. Several 1/2 finished and ill conceived remodeling projects.
2. Long narrow crummy driveway.
3. House orientation rotated 90-degrees off everything else on the block.
4. An over-the-garage addition.
5. Lousy everything else.
6. A clearly unsanitary ’swimming pool’

But none of these get at the heart of the matter which is the generally creepy ax-murder style vibe of some homes. Also, creepy owners/residents don’t hurt.

Last week I was at this house in my never-ending quest to bring foreclosure solutions (and joy and hope) to distressed Palos Verdes homeowners.

The door is open so I knock.

“Hello,” I announce myself.

“Come in,” says a friendly voice who follows that with “…I think.”

But by then I was already well inside the vestibule. Next, a pretty good size guy (250 lbs) rushes out and blocks me. He comes at me WAY too fast and he comes WAY to close. I need my personal space, you know? This guy obviously does not want me to see what he is doing in the other room. Creepy, right? Anyway, he makes a halfhearted attempt to pretend he is shaking my hand as he throws me out the front door.

Outside I brush myself off and question my career choice. Whatever, like I care whose body he’s busy dismembering.

Anyhoo, back to the Real Estate part of the story. I think it’s safe to assume the tax records are wrong in this case. Nobody would have lent $2.4 million on this property. So let us assume it’s $1-million off. What’s $1-million among friends anyway, right? $1.4 seems reasonable to me, at one time. Now everything is gone but the 1st lien which is around $1-million bucks. At the auction they were ready to let it go for $920k and change. But it is going to take more than that these days.

Look for this home soon as an REO. I call it a good buy for $750,000. Bring your tools and your fav exorcist.

Help fund the continued creation of fine literature on this blog by Buying / Selling a house with me. Seriously, call me at 310-809-0203. And for goodness sake, subscribe to this blog already!

“Honey, I think we are going to be short on our mortgage payment by $165,858.”

– Imagined dinner conversation of Bob Lowe, chairman and chief executive of Lowe Enterprises, The Terrenea Resort’s principal owner.

Oh snap!

Terranea fixtures for sale?

Gosh, maybe they’ll let it slide? …Turns out they just might! As always, it’s great to be rich. And it’s even greater to be uber rich. Check out this quote from the L.A. Times:

“Lenders are loath to take these properties back, especially something as management-intensive as hotels,” Reay said. “Foreclosure is the last resort on a resort hotel.”

So I guess the lesson here is…

…. wait there is no lesson here. It’s just lame. And so is the Terranea resort, in this writer’s ever so humble opinion. Every time I drive by I wonder, ‘Who the heck would come here?’ Also, how are they going to get here, the 110 South to Gaffey and through San Pedro? Wow, that route is going to make folks feel special – that is if they are into driving through poverty and gangland to arrive at Disneyland-style largess in the middle of nowhere. To me, it’s about as attractive as a long weekend in Haiti. Just stay inside the compound and you’ll have a lovely time.

Anyhoo, time for some fun math!

The Terranea Resort was built for a jaw-dropping $480-million. (Brief pause here so you, dear reader, may swallow the little bit of vomit that just bubbled up your throat).  So since everything else around is here down by 20-33 %, where does that put the value of Terranea? Well, take the land value and add the replacement construction cost and factor in the 50% drop in tourism of late and factor in the pledged millions of tax dollars…now calculate that and arrive at: $%@!!!^@!!

Terranea to Trump: Save me!

In layman’s terms, that basically equals whatever the heck Donald Trump is willing to pay for it.

Why that’s ridiculous, we are just snazzy!

Again, from the LA Times article:

The hotel is 100% booked for Saturday night, and as many as 200 rooms have been rented on weekdays, Lowe said. Three weddings will be celebrated at Terranea this weekend.

My bad. Silly me. Here I was thinking all these negative thoughts without noting the resort was full on Saturday. I guess having 100% occupancy on the busiest hotel night of the week must be the yardstick for success in that industry. Don’t get me wrong, 3 weddings is great. But unless they can charge $60K a piece it’s still going to be tough to make those monthlies. (Actually, they probably CAN charge that much)!

My hidden agenda:  The Terranea Website autoplays annoying music.

Recently my wife and I celebrated our 1-year wedding anniversary. (See adorable photos posted on this very Website). She was gunning for a couple nights at Terranea and I was modestly interested in making her dream a reality. So we get online and do the usually clicking around, and so on.

The cheapest ocean view room is $360/night. That means, of course, a 2 night stay is going to set you back a cool grand – and that’s assuming you don’t pickup the phone or even look at the minibar.

So I’m soon contemplating that expense as a percentage of my yearly income. And suddenly this ‘little local getaway weekend’ is anything but.

‘Gosh, that’s a ton of money,’ I think. ’Or maybe not. Maybe I’m just really poor.’

But then again, consider the average income of Americans …. once again, I’m back to, ‘Gosh that’s expensive.’

I start to think about other uses for that money. How could I make the money / the stay / the fun stretch? Is there somewhere we could fly, visit and stay for 3x as long for the same amount?

Then it occurs to me. And I’m soon Google-ing: “Travel deals to Haiti.’

Terranea Alternatives

For more information on the Terranea Resort please contact someone who cares. But for an unorthodox, dry and generally funny (but sometimes annoying) take on Real Estate in Palos Verdes Peninsula call me right away! I’m at 310-809-0203. And for goodness sake, subscribe to the blog already.